THE MAID BROKE DOWN OUTSIDE THE MAFIA BOSS’S OFFICE—THEN HE HEARD WHO WAS THREATENING HER DYING BROTHER AND CLAIMED HER BEFORE THE WHOLE CITY

Two days after the gala, the Costello estate felt like an armed fortress under siege.

Armed sentries patrolled the perimeter with Belgian Malinois attack dogs, their silhouettes cutting through the morning fog that rolled off the Hudson River. Inside the mansion, Sadi sat in the second-floor library, staring at an encrypted tablet Victor had provided her. On the screen was the daily medical report from St. Jude’s: Sam’s white blood cell count was stabilizing, and the donor marrow match was scheduled for transport by the end of the week.

A soft knock at the open double doors broke her concentration.

"You should be resting," Victor said, stepping inside. He had shed his suit jacket, wearing a charcoal vest over his white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

"I can't rest while people are trying to kill you because of me," Sadi said honestly, setting the tablet on the mahogany desk. "Mick O’Shea didn't leave the city, did he?"

"No," Victor replied, taking a seat in the leather armchair opposite her. "He went to ground in the Red Hook shipping yards. But Mick is just a rabid dog on a leash. The real threat is holding the other end of the chain."

"Dominic," Sadi said without hesitation.

Victor’s eyebrows raised slightly. "You noticed his reaction at the gala."

"It wasn't just the gala," Sadi said, leaning forward, her mind racing back through the eight months she had spent scrubbing the floors of this very house. "Mr. Costello... Victor. When I was working the night shifts, the staff wasn't allowed near the third-floor west wing. But three weeks ago, around three in the morning, I was cleaning the service corridor near your private records vault."

Victor went completely still. His posture became rigid, his slate-gray eyes locking onto hers with razor-sharp focus. "Go on."

"I saw Dominic," Sadi continued. "He wasn't using the main elevator. He used the service stairs behind the kitchen. He had a set of brass master keys—the ones only you and the head of security are supposed to carry. He came out of the vault holding a black ledger with gold foil on the spine. He stuffed it into his trench coat and left through the cellar."

Victor’s jaw tightened so hard a muscle twitched violently under his skin. "The Black Ledger," he murmured, his voice deathly quiet. "It contains the offshore accounts, the dummy corporations, and the identities of every federal judge on our payroll."

"I didn't think anything of it at the time," Sadi said, guilt washing over her. "The staff rule was simple: see nothing, say nothing. If I had known he was stealing from you, I would have—"

"You would have been murdered on the spot, Sadi," Victor interrupted, reaching across the desk and placing his hand over hers. His grip was firm, grounding her. "Dominic would have broken your neck and dumped your body in the river if he knew you saw him. You did the right thing by staying alive."

The door to the library burst open. Marcus stood in the frame, breathing heavily, a tablet in his hand.

"Boss, we have a problem," Marcus said, his voice urgent. "The transport carrying the bone marrow harvest for the kid just cleared the airport. Two unidentified tactical SUVs pulled out behind the medical convoy on Route 9. They’re running them off the road."

Sadi shot out of her chair, her face draining of all color. "Sam's marrow! Oh God, if they destroy that shipment, there isn't another donor match!"

Victor stood up instantly, his eyes burning with lethal fury. "Dominic knows the boy is our pressure point. He thinks if he destroys the kid, he breaks you, and if he breaks you, he proves I can't protect my own."

Victor drew his custom black .45 from his shoulder holster, checking the chamber with a crisp metallic snap.

"Mobilize the strike team," Victor ordered Marcus. "We intercept them at the Hudson toll plaza."

"I'm coming with you," Sadi said, rounding the desk, her hazel eyes blazing with a fierce, desperate fire.

Victor looked at her, ready to refuse, but the unyielding determination in her stance stopped him in his tracks. This wasn't the trembling girl he had found weeping on the floor outside his office. This was a sister fighting for her brother's life.